If only it were that easy

"Honk your horn to save a teacher, honk your horn to save a teacher!" Ahh, if only it was that easy.

I stood on the corner of Newhall Ranch Road and Bouquet Canyon Road Friday, March 13 with my colleagues, administrators and friends as one of the many, many teachers in the Santa Clarita Valley who received RIF notices this week ("reduction in force" being the euphemistic term being used instead of "laid off" or "pink slip").

Yes, I am upset that I might not have a classroom in which to teach come August, but I'm even more upset by what it's doing to the future of our state and country.

Do we not understand the absolute necessity of educating future generations? The plan of most districts is to pack more students into the classroom thereby reducing the number of teachers they need to accommodate the reductions in their budgets from our state.

California already ranks at almost the bottom of the list in our nation in per-student funding and we have the largest class sizes (at least in the upper grades) of any state. Is this in the best interest of our children?

It's time for parents to step forward and advocate for the welfare of their children.

As I heard those horns honk "Pink Friday," it felt good to feel the public's support, but it's going to take a lot more than those "beep, beeps" to save our educational system!